Five-step freelance WordPress project process: discovery call, written proposal, build in staging, review and launch, handoff with 14 days of fixes
The Engagement

Step by step, from discovery to handoff.

1

Discovery & Scoping

Every engagement starts with understanding the actual problem, not just the requested fix. For a WordPress or WooCommerce performance issue, that means looking at real Core Web Vitals metrics before proposing a solution. For a new PHP build, Magento project, or integration, that means understanding your existing stack, constraints, and what "done" looks like for you. I ask direct questions here — the goal is a scope that holds up once development starts.

What you get: a shared understanding of the real problem and what "done" means.

2

Proposal & Timeline

Based on discovery, I send a written proposal covering scope, deliverables, timeline, and cost — fixed-scope where the work is well-defined, or a clear hourly/milestone structure where it isn't. No open-ended retainers without a defined check-in cadence, and no surprises on scope once we've agreed on it.

What you get: a written scope, milestones and a fixed price or clear estimate. See pricing models.

3

Development & Communication

I work in regular check-ins rather than disappearing until "done" — the cadence depends on project length, but you'll always know what's in progress and what's next. I use Git for version control on every PHP and WordPress engagement, with a clean commit history so you have a real record of what changed and why, not just a final zip file.

4

QA & Launch

Before anything ships, it goes through testing appropriate to the change — cross-browser and cross-device checks for front-end work, WooCommerce checkout testing and Core Web Vitals regression checks for performance or architecture changes, and a staging-environment review before production deployment. Launches are planned, not rushed, with a rollback plan for anything touching a live production system.

5

Handoff & Ongoing Support

Every engagement ends with documentation — what was built, how any custom REST API endpoints or plugin architecture work, and how to maintain it — so you're not dependent on me to understand your own system. If ongoing support makes sense for the project, we agree on that scope explicitly rather than leaving it ambiguous.

What you get: documentation, code in your repo, and 14 days of fixes.

Reference

Communication across time zones

I work async-first from India (IST). You get written updates you can read on your schedule, and for UK/EU clients my afternoon overlaps your morning. For US and Australian clients, calls are scheduled in advance. Most projects need only 2–3 calls in total; the rest is clear written communication.

Tools I use (or yours)

Git (GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket) · staging environments · Slack, Teams or email · Trello, Jira or your project board · Loom videos for walkthroughs. Agency partners can have me work entirely inside their own tools.

Principles I don't compromise on

  • No work on your live site without a staging test first
  • No core-file edits: WordPress and WooCommerce stay updatable
  • No scope changes without your written approval
  • Your code, your data, your NDA

Ready to start?

Start with a message or book a 20-minute call.

I reply within 24–48 hours. NDA available on request.

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